The brother of Joshua Spowage has raised more than £800 in his memory through a charity head shave at Monks’ Dyke Tennyson College in Mablethorpe.

James Spowage, 29, who works as a teaching assistant at the school, had not had a haircut since the tragic death of his younger brother Joshua, a Louth hairdresser who took his own life in April this year.

James Spowage raised over �800 for Cancer Research UK when he had his head shaved in memory of his brother, Joshua. EMN-141219-110504001

James explained: “I used to always go to Linzi’s Salon and have my hair cut by Josh, and we used to have a good catch up.

“It was a special bond, so I felt that I had to do something in his honour, put it on a grand stage and raise some money for Josh’s favourite charity.”

The funds raised will go to Cancer Research UK, which became Joshua’s favourite charity after he lost both of his grandfathers to the disease.

James said: “Josh used to take part in the Louth Run For Life, and since my head shave was in his memory it was important to raise the money for them.”

James had his head shaved on Wednesday December 17 in front of an audience of around 200 pupils, staff, friends and family members, while Mablethorpe hairdresser Keith Beardsmore did the honours.

Duke of Edinburgh Award students at the school helped to design the charity buckets for the event, and collected extra donations on the door.

James said: “The Duke of Edinburgh students helped in a fantastic way, and I’d like to say a special thank you to everybody who was involved in the event. Thank you all for your support.”

You can visit James’ fundraising web page at www.justgiving.com/James-Spowage1 if you would like to make a donation.